1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to earring support devices. More specifically the invention relates to and earring support device that distributes the weight of the earring throughout the device and earlobe instead of solely being supported by the tissue of the ear lobe.
Ears are pierced for both fashion and religious reasons and piercings are of the oldest known forms of body modification. Ear piercings are popular among both men and women, and nearly all portions of the ear have been pierced. The traditional and most popular location on the ear to become pierced is the earlobe, however, the earlobe offers the least support of any other part of the ear because it lacks a supporting cartilage. The earlobe is often the victim of tearing and stretching as a result of the weight of the jewelry and a lack of a supporting structure other than the piercing from which the jewelry hangs. The piercing of the earlobe may become permanently elongated, stretched out, or otherwise badly deformed. Having deformed piercings creates a look that is not aesthetically pleasing and the elongation of the piercing will become worse with continued wearing of heavy earrings.
There are several ear piercing support devices that provide support attachments onto earrings. These attachments are adapted to relieve some of the pressure applied on the earlobe by providing additional support around the ear in order to enable the ear piercing to withstand the weight of the jewelry. The drawback of these systems is that they are often bulky and provide support by wrapping around the periphery of an ear. These systems tend to be uncomfortable and not as decorative as the jewelry that it is designed to support.
Some devices also attempt to relieve pressure caused by the jewelry by enabling a breakage from the piercing when a sufficient pressure is achieved. The drawback of these devices is that they rely on separation only after an exceeding pressure is achieved. The problem with these devices is that they fail to resolve or relieve the long term effects of a heavy earring hanging from the earlobes and only provide a breakage as a result of the earring being forcefully pulled off.
There are several devices that relieve a pressure on the earlobes caused by heavy jewelry; however none of the devices of the past address the need for distributing the weight of the jewelry over the area of the earlobe without adding the bulkiness that comes with devices that wrap around the ears.
The present invention relates to a new and improved earring support device configured designed to distribute the weight applied to the piercing by the earring. The support device comprises a set of clam-shell shaped earlobe guards that are joined together by a hinge. The guards clamp on either side of the earlobe and are secured thereto. The guards each comprise an aperture extending from the upper portion of the guard and are adapted to align with an ear piercing. After the earring support device is clamped onto the earlobe, the earring is then inserted a first guard, through the ear piercing, and exits through the opposing ear piercing guard. When the earring is inserted through the clam-shell shaped guards, the weight of the jewelry is supported by the device, which is clamped onto the earlobe and is no longer supported by just the ear piercing. The present invention further serves to conceal any prior damage from the extended wearing of heavy jewelry, and additionally the earring support device comes in a variety of designs and colors that can be color coordinated with the jewelry.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to earring support structures. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These devices generally relate to support devices that wrap around the ear and earrings that separate from the earlobe after a separating force is applied to the jewelry. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,195 to Austrin describes a safety guard for ear ornaments. In use, the majority of the device wraps around the back of the ear and only the decorative spiral hook portion is exposed on the outer side of the user's ear. The exposed portion of the device is attached to and supports the earring by providing a hanger for the ear ornaments. The prior art of Austrin, however, differs from the present invention in that it fails to provide a non-bulky device that is not required to be wrapped around the majority of the ear.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,974 to Hernandez describes a detachable earring ornament. The earring assembly comprises male and female attachments wherein the male connector is readily connectable to a variety of earring ornaments. The detachable earring ornament is further configured to become separable if a force is applied to the jewelry by being grabbed or caught onto an object. Although the prior art of Hernandez is similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, the prior art differs in that it only provides a separation in the event of a force on the jewelry, and fails to offer a solution to the effects upon a pierced ear by the wearing of heavy jewelry for an extended amount of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,212 to Jacobs discloses ear jewelry comprising a decorative wire that generally conforms to the periphery of an ear. The wires comprise supports near its upper and lower ends, wherein the lower end support takes the form of a pin that is inserted through a pierced hole in the earlobe. While the prior art of Jacobs is similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, it differs in that it fails to provide a non-bulky device that is not wrapped around the periphery of the ear.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,396 to MacHock describes an apparatus for the support of an earring. The support device is adapted for use with pierced, screw-post, or clip-on earrings and reduces the stresses exerted on the earlobes; wherein the support device is adapted to encircle a user's ear to support an earring that is suspended from the user's earlobe. Although the prior art of MacHock is similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, it differs in that it is configured to be wrapped around the ear to provide support.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0100865 to Guelpen describes an apparatus for concealing the appearance of stretched ear piercings that come as a result of wearing heavy earrings. The invention comprises a decorative accessory that covers a stretched piercing. An earring is threaded through a hole of the piercing covering element, through the piercing, and connected with a rubber guard at the opposite side of the ear. While the prior art of Guelpen is similar in nature and relevant to the present invention, if differs in that it fails to provide a solution to the stretching of piercing holes, but instead attempts to conceal the problem after it has already occurred.
The present invention relates to a new and improved earring support device that relieves the pressure on a piercing caused by the prolonged wearing heavy jewelry. Specifically the earring support device acts by providing a clam-shell shaped hinged device that clamps onto a bottom portion of the earlobe, and further comprises holes on each clam-shelled side that are configured to align with an existing piercing in a user's ear. The support device allows for a distribution of the forces exerted by the jewelry to be spread evenly throughout the area occupied by the device on the earlobe, and thus relieves and removes the forces that are capable of damaging a piercing hole.
In view of the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art devices, it is shown that the prior art has several known drawbacks and that the present invention is substantially divergent in design elements from the prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing earring support devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.